Blessed are the Cracked for They Let in the Light
by poppyandbeeb
Summary: Post S7. Anna arrives in Charming looking for Juice. Her quest for information leads her straight to the Sons who are struggling to piece together the fragments of their club and brotherhood. Forced to remain in town to get some answers, Anna learns that sometimes broken people are the most interesting. This is my first fanfic, reviews are welcome but please be kind!
1. Chapter 1

_**Blessed are the Cracked for They Let in the Light**_

From the outside, it looked like a typical small town classic Americana ice cream shop, but stepping inside, it soon became abundantly clear that this was certainly no Norman Rockwell painting, unless he had been seriously tripping on acid when he painted this particular tableau. Tripping and maybe hanging out with Andy Warhol. Anna pushed her sunglasses up on her head and looked around. The man behind the counter gave her a broad smile, the kind that wavered dangerously between endearing and unhinged. In the corner, a girl who looked about seventeen was wiping down the tables, her eyes wide as if the entire world terrified her and she was planning her escape.

"Can I help you?" the man asked, grinning at her. As he leaned forward, she noticed that the fingers which were tapping on the counter top were prosthetic and looked like they had been cobbled together from old doll parts. Trying not to stare at the fingers, Anna readjusted her gaze, smiling at the man. "Sorry for staring, but that looks like it was a nasty injury. Sorry, I'm rambling, I'm hoping you can help me, I'm looking for Juan Carlos Ortiz. Would you be able to direct me to the Sons of Anarchy?"

Anna noticed that the smile faltered almost imperceptibly and changed from welcoming to sad. Confused, she looked across at the girl who had stopped wiping and was staring at her with even wider eyes, if that was possible. The awkward silence was broken by a languid southern drawl.

"Pay them no mind darling, perhaps I can help you?" From her seat in the corner booth, Venus Van Dam had been watching and appraising Anna. Although she didn't know her, she approved of the woman's straight, clean hair and calm, polite demeanour. A lady, Venus surmised, eyeing the rose gold hoops in her ears and her well-kept nails.

Anna turned to find a woman in a wrap dress and pearls sitting elegantly in the corner booth. Her hair fell in soft layers which had been flicked outwards as if in homage to Jacqueline Smith from Charlie's Angels. Although it was apparent that the woman was transgender, having grown up in San Francisco, transsexual and transgender people neither repulsed nor shocked Anna. They were simply people who deserved the same rights and respect that everybody else was entitled to. Still, she wondered how accepting the locals in Charming were of this woman despite having one of the most oddly beautiful and gentle faces that Anna had ever seen.

"I'm trying to contact Juan Carlos Ortiz, but he's not answering his cell or email. I'm hoping somebody here could give me some information" Anna said, walking towards the woman and holding out her hand. "I'm Anna, Anna Del Valle."

"Venus Van Dam. Charmed" Venus said, offering her hand in a demure handshake that Anna suspected belied a tough inner strength. Venus gestured to the seat opposite. "Why don't you take a seat and we'll see if we can assist you."

"Thanks," Anna said gratefully, pushing her hair behind her ears and taking a seat. "I like your dress," she said, trying to make small talk. "Triads" the man interjected suddenly. Anna stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him. "I'm sorry?"

"My hands. It was the Lin Triad. You see, I'm a chronic masturbator so they chopped my hands off with a meat cleaver.. . . " There was a clucking sound from Venus. "Now Chucky darlin', don't vex the lady with your tales of woe. Why don't you head upstairs and see if my Alexander and the boys could spare a moment?"

"I accept that," Chuck said with a smile and went out towards the back of the shop. He returned a few moments later and with a smile and a flick of his creepy doll fingers, motioned Anna to follow him upstairs. Anna turned to Venus, "Umm would you mind..."

"Don't you worry, I'll keep an eye on your belongings," Venus said, offering a sympathetic smile.

It had been a shit week, a shit few months and a shit year for the Sons. They had managed to extricate themselves from their illegal businesses and settle their old scores, but they'd paid a horrible price for it. John Teller's original vision of a hippy biker commune had been beaten, tortured and blown to pieces, taking with it a staggeringly high body count. They'd lost brothers, friends and loved ones, even their clubhouse. Worse, they'd lost the respect of the town who no longer viewed the Sons as saviors and protectors but harbingers of death. All those that had survived the war, now sat around the table trying to piece back together the fragments of their brotherhood and their reputation.

The sound of heels climbing the stairs could be heard, interrupting their discussion. Chucky had mentioned that there was a girl downstairs asking about Juice, and with a crease of his brows and a weary stroke of his goatee, Chibs had said to let her come up. Happy chewed silently on his toothpick and watched her enter the room. She had the kind of open, friendly face that looked as if a smile was just waiting to break out. Tall and slim with gentle curves, she walked towards the table with a quiet confidence, a stark contrast from the women who usually hung around them, women who wore their garish overconfidence like a protective shell. With her dark hair swinging behind her like a velvet shadow and her long legs encased in tight jeans and knee high boots, she reminded him of Rita Coolidge, that country singer his ma used to love.

He had to hand it to her, she seemed totally unfazed that in the space of 15 minutes, she had dealt with a man wearing budget prosthetic fingers, a transsexual and Rat's old lady Brooke, who looked perpetually terrified. In an ice cream parlor no less. She surveyed the men before her with the same relaxed expression. If she was nervous in the presence of bikers, she didn't show it.

"I was wondering if you could help me, I went to your garage but the mechanics sent me here. I'm looking for Juan Carlos Ortiz?" She looked down at her nails for a second then just as Happy suspected, an easy smile broke across her face. If she hadn't been standing in front of who she was standing in front of, her smile would have both disarmed and charmed them. Instead, it made them uncomfortable. This woman didn't look like a croweater or some junkie ex, in fact, she didn't look like on an average day, she would be within a hundred miles of the Sons.

The bristling of the men and the uncomfortable looks between them did not go unnoticed by Anna. They seemed to be silently debating who would provide her with an answer. She looked at the man wearing the president patch, and wondered if this was the infamous Jax that she'd heard about. From the way she'd heard him described, she thought he'd be younger. This guy was handsome sure, but he looked older, more road weary. She had been expecting a golden prince. "Who exactly are you?" the president demanded in a tone that suggested he was leery of strangers. And as far as they knew, she was definitely a stranger.

"I'm Anna. Is Juan Carlos around? I haven't heard from him in a while and I was starting to get worried." The men at the table looked at her dumbfounded, Juice had never mentioned anything about having an old lady and she sure as shit didn't look like the kind of girl who'd randomly bang a biker. Happy was the first to answer. "Juice's dead. Got shanked in prison. Died like the rat he was." Anna looked at the direction of where the voice had come from, a smoky, rumbling voice that if it hadn't been delivering such a harsh message, would have garnered more sexual interest from her.

Happy heard the sharp intake of breath and watched the quickened rise and fall of her breasts in that threadbare t-shirt as she struggled to comprehend what she had been told. He watched as she paled and began to tremble, noticed how her long fingers curled and dug into her palms to calm herself down, saw her straighten her shoulders as if to brace herself against the bad news.

The answer had taken Anna by surprise, particularly the harshness with which it had been delivered. Juan Carlos had always spoken of the club like it was his family, something he would do anything to protect, yet that man with the dark eyes and piercing, almost brutal stare had called him a rat. She sucked in a shaky breath and exhaled slowly, trying to desperately avoid falling apart in front of this table of strangers. She could feel her eyes beginning to prickle with tears and was suddenly desperate to get away from the men, from the shop, from Charming, from _this_. "Umm, OK well I guess I'll be going. Sorry to bother you" Anna said, trying to surreptitiously wipe a stray tear away. She looked at the men, trying to get a read on them. Beyond the stony expressions, there was anger, sadness and pity and the last thing she needed was anybody's pity, especially these men's. She waited until she was halfway down the stairs to allow her shoulders to slump.

"I don't know who the fuck that girl was, but I kinda feel sorry for her. Obviously she got mixed up with the idiot somehow" Tig said.

"Think somebody should go check on her?" T.O asked.

"Aye."

Chibs looked across the table, to find the best person to go and comfort the girl. The reality was that people who had always been the best at comforting distraught women were all dead or gone, there was nobody left who was good with the charm or a heartfelt sympathetic glance, nobody to make a soothing cup of coffee or offer a "it'll be OK darlin'." Of course, he reasoned, he could go himself, after all, he knew _some_ things about women, he had a wife, a daughter and until recently a fuck buddy. But he just couldn't bring himself to move from the table - the rage and hurt of Juice's actions hadn't subsided and he didn't know if he would be able to find it in himself to say something comforting. A part of him hated Juice, and whoever this girl was, if she had a connection to Juice, he had a feeling he would just project his hatred of Juice onto her. If he sent Rat, there was a strong chance that his old lady would come down with a case of the psychos, and Chibs really didn't need Brooke flipping out and breaking shit today, they were existing on the vapors of community goodwill as it was. Quinn looked like he was gearing up for Wrestlemania V, and Montez and T.O had never really got to know Juice that well. That left Happy and Tig; Happy with his dead expression and that damn toothpick and Tig with his wolf eyes and creepy sexual proclivities. "Jesus Christ", thought Chibs, "in what fucking world are the two guys who not only kill for the club but take pleasure in it, the best options to comfort a crying girl?" He gave the two men a pointed look, seeing who would bite first.

"Fuck it, I'll go," Happy said, pushing himself away from the table and heading downstairs in long strides.

Downstairs, Venus was mobilizing the sympathy troops. "Brooke, can you please go and wet a washcloth and bring it to me? Chucky honey, how about a cup of strong, sweet tea for the lady?" Leaning against the doorway, Happy surveyed the situation and tried to figure out what exactly he was supposed to do to help. It wasn't that he wasn't good with women or sympathy for that matter, but years on the road as a soldier for the club hadn't required him to do a lot of comforting of women, that had been Gemma's domain. Besides, most of the women in the club were accustomed to the life and didn't require sympathy - they tolerated it until the couldn't anymore and then they left. Nowadays, Happy mused, there weren't that many club women left around. Aside from Lyla and Tig's freakshow of an old lady, they were either dead or long gone.

Happy watched as Anna hung her head slightly to unobtrusively swipe her index finger under her eyes. Venus gently took hold of Anna's hand and stroked her hair which, Happy observed, was the color of coca cola. "It's alright sugarplum," Venus soothed, "just take deep breaths." Although he still had no idea who this woman was, Happy couldn't help but admire her determination to remain stoic. The shop was basically empty so there was no reason to hide her tears, and yet she continued to duck her head so that nobody would see her sadness.

It was then that he noticed the kid clinging to her leg.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

**Author's Note: Thank you to everybody who read and reviewed, I honestly wasn't expecting it**. **I don't own anything you recognise**.

The face peering out from behind Anna was one that Happy had sat across from for years; same gooey brown eyes, same infectious grin, same ears sticking out as if somebody had pulled them slightly and they'd stuck. There was no doubting the paternity, this was Juice's kid. Happy crouched down so that he was eye level with the little boy. "What's your name little man?" he asked.

"Felix Ortiz Del Valle" the little boy said proudly, stepping out from behind Anna's leg.

"Ortiz Del Valle huh?" Happy asked, looking over at Anna who raised an eyebrow defiantly at him, as if to dare him to take issue with the name.

"Yup," Felix said, nodding his head, vigorously. "My mom is Cuban and Puerto Rican because my abeulo is Cuban and my abuelita is Puerto Rican."

"Baby, come sit with me a minute, I have something important to tell you" Anna interrupted, taking a seat at one of the chairs and patting her knee. With a grin, Felix climbed into his mother's lap. "Remember when we had to go to church to pray for Tío Gomes?" she asked.

"Uh huh" Felix said, eyes wide as if some exciting news were about to be given. "And remember I told you that he'd gone to heaven to be with the angels? Well baby, we won't be seeing your daddy for a while because he's also gone to heaven." You could see the little boy's mind working as he processed the information. His face crumpled almost in slow motion and the most heart wrenching sobs burst forth. "He's in heaven? Why?" Felix asked through hiccuping sobs.

Anna looked at the ceiling, trying to conjure an answer to a question she didn't know. "I guess it was his time. But baby boy, he loved you so much and he will always keep an eye on you from heaven" Anna said gently, her eyes shimmering with tears. "But I'll never get to see him!" Felix wailed. "You can see him every night in your dreams" Anna said, pulling Felix's little body close and gently stroking his hair.

At some point or another, everybody connected with the club cried: women, children, even the members themselves; but no matter how often it happened, it never got easier. Watching this little Juice in miniature cry like his world was ending brought old guilt roaring back. How they'd sent Juice to prison under the guise of redemption, when really they were sending him to his death; how they'd allowed his dignity to be taken, how he'd been raped, abused and left to bleed out in a prison dining hall. Chibs thought about how Juice had come to him in the diner and begged him for help, and how he'd told Juice to eat his own gun. Juice's face had crumpled in the same way as his son's, revealing every emotion he was feeling.

After the little boy had cried himself to sleep and was curled up in Anna's lap with one arm desperately clutching her neck, she looked over at Chucky who sat next to her, keeping a strange silent vigil. "Is there a hotel nearby?" she asked quietly. "It's too late to drive back to Oakland and I need to get some information before I can go home." When she left her house this morning, she hadn't really expected any bad news, she'd thought she'd come into Charming, find Juan Carlos and he could spend time with Felix. Although she knew he'd been having problems, in all of the worst case scenarios she'd run through in her head, she didn't really expect him to be dead; in prison or excommunicated maybe, but dead? No.

"Ain't anything to tell, especially when we don't even know who the hell you are" Chibs said sharply.

"Well it's a pity that you managed to get your Intel Officer killed, isn't it?" Anna hissed. She had expected the club to be cagey, but this Scottish prick was working her last nerve. She hadn't done anything to cause this rudeness; she had been polite and hadn't pried into the club, she'd tried to leave when it became clear that she wasn't going to get a lot of answers. True, she hadn't volunteered any information about herself, but she had a son to protect and she knew enough about the Sons to play her cards close to her chest.

"How about you watch your mouth and tell us who you are exactly?" Chibs barked.

"I don't have time to trade witty barbs with you. I have a broken hearted little boy who's just lost his father, so you'll excuse me if I don't have the inclination to be interrogated by some bikers right now. Find me somewhere to stay and I'll explain it all to you in the morning."

None of the Sons moved, if anything they seemed to root themselves to their position more firmly in collective defiance. Anna sucked in air through her nose and exhaled slowly to calm herself, then gently, so as not to wake up her son, she pulled her phone from her back pocket, punched in a number and cradled the phone between her shoulder and ear.

"Hey it's Anna. I'm in Charming...yep...less than excellent...listen, can you please speak to one of them? They're not being very helpful...um, there's a guy with wolf eyes, a dude that looks like a WWF wrestler...nah he's too old school to be WWE, a guy with scars, a pocket size Latino, a black dude, a young guy with a beard and a bald guy with a head tat. Yeah, ok"

"He wants to talk to Happy?" Anna said, holding out the phone. Happy stepped forward and took the phone, before heading outside to take the call.

The silence that descended upon the group crackled with iciness. Nobody moved, as if to physically change position would be relinquishing their advantage. Anna pinched the bridge of her nose, she had a ferocious headache coming on and more than anything she wanted to get away from these people, but she needed some information about Juan Carlos. She had a responsibility to arm herself with knowledge about him so that when Felix was older, she would be able to answer his questions. Her classroom was filled with kids who didn't know their dad, her son wasn't going to be one of them.

She looked over at Venus and offered a tired smile, pretty sure that had she been dealing with Venus, her day would have been marginally easier. Venus moved next to Anna. Placing her hand over Anna's, she gave her a reassuring wink. "Now don't go working yourself into a lather darlin'," she said in a low, conspiratorial voice, "these boys just like to show how big their dicks are by being, shall we say, _uncooperative_. The truth is, they have always been ruled by the whims of women... or variations thereof" she said, gesturing to herself. "Can I get you anything? Coffee?" Venus asked, waving Brooke over. "A coffee would be great, thank you Venus" Anna said.

Happy knocked on the shop window and gestured for Chibs to come outside. "Rat, keep an eye on her" Chibs said, pointing at Anna, his face hard. "That was Fiasco," Happy said once Chibs was outside, "he said he'll vouch for her. Apparently they went to high school together and her cousin Gomes was a Byz Lat."

"Why the hell is she here?"

"She's got a kid with Juice, was worried about him and came looking. Fiasco said that if we could help her with whatever she needs, he'd be appreciative. Said he didn't feel like it was his business to tell her what happened with Juice."

"Why the hell didn't she just say all this herself?"

Happy shrugged. "Dunno, probably the same reason we didn't tell her shit: no history, no trust. So what do we do?"

Chibs sighed, stroking his goatee. "Alright we'll help her with what she needs. But keep an eye on her, gather what intel you can. Interfering gashes have destroyed this club, and I'm not letting it happen again."

Back inside the shop, the temperature had thawed slightly. Venus and Anna were sipping coffee and chatting quietly, the little boy still fast asleep in her lap. Happy walked to Anna and handed her phone back. "He vouched" was all he said before taking up a guard dog position at the side of the president.

"So what now? Could you help me find a hotel?" Anna asked, directing her question at the president, who she had since found out was not Jax but Chibs.

"Oh you are not sending this girl to that hotel, it's full of low rent hookers, tweakers and other undesirables. Find her some place else please gentlemen" Venus said, wagging a well manicured finger in front of Chibs.

"Aye, fine" said Chibs. At least Venus was polite in her demands and she was right, the hotel was shady.

"There's rooms at Redwoody" Rat suggested.

"What's that?" Anna asked.

"Our porn studio" he replied.

"I'm not so sure that's the environment I want my four year old in" Anna said.

"You can stay with me!" Chucky said happily.

"No!" came the chorus.

"Jesus Christ, talk about an unhealthy environment" Tig muttered under his breath.

Chucky looked crestfallen that his suggestion had been shot down. Anna, taking pity on him, gave him a brilliant smile and patted his shoulder gently. "It's a lovely offer Chucky, but I think that the club needs somewhere that they can keep an eye on me, you know make sure that I'm not a fed or something."

"What about Wendy's place?" Happy suggested, "it's just sitting there, Wendy hasn't sold it yet."

"Aye, Hap escort Anna to Wendy's place" Chibs said before turning to Anna. "You and I are going to talk in the morning, sort all this shit out."

"Thank you" Anna said, standing up. Felix stirred at the movement but didn't awaken as she followed Happy out of the shop and towards her car.

"Want me to take him while you get sorted?" Happy asked.

"Umm, that would be nice" Anna replied, a little stunned that this scowling man with the dark eyes was offering to not only help but to help with her kid. Then the penny dropped.

"Raised by a single mum huh?" she asked with a smile, handing Felix over.

Now it was Happy's turn to be surprised. "Yeah, how'd you know?" he asked, unable to stop himself.

"I'm a teacher, trick of the trade" she said with a wink and unlocked her car.

**Thanks for reading! Next time: how Anna met Juice**


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

**Author's Note: Thanks again for everybody who read and reviewed, it's so nice to hear you all say nice things! This chapter is dedicated to the real Anna. **

**4 Years and 40 Weeks Ago**

The club was packed, running four people deep across the bar. In the corner by the staff exit, Anna could see her cousin Gomes standing with Fiasco, only his eyebrows visible under his beanie and the light occasionally glinting off his grill. She tugged at the hem of her black dress, trying to magically make it just a little bit longer. The overly perky shop assistant had said it was body con, "totally in, totally you" and Anna was sure as hell feeling conscious of her body as it clung to every curve. She hadn't wanted to buy it, was happy to go to the club in jeans and a tank top, but her friend Dee had insisted she get all dressed up to celebrate the start of summer. Anna looked over at Dee who was tottering back from the bar on staggeringly high heels, _"stripper high" _Anna thought to herself, that elevated her 5'5 frame so that she was eye to eye with Anna. Heels had been where Anna had drawn the line, refusing to trade her black Converse for something more "club appropriate" as Dee had tried to diplomatically put it.

Although generally speaking she was straight laced, "serious, responsible, conscientious" her school reports had always said, there was a part of Anna that if left to its own devices, overrode all that responsibleness like a mischievous imp flicking some kind of deviancy switch. And so she toed the line, excelled in her studies and made her doctor father and professor mother proud by being a "positive Latina role model", but there were times that she wished she could be a little more like her cousin and sit around shooting the breeze with the people she went to high school with instead of being in a classroom educating their children. However, ever since Dee had insisted they celebrate the end of the school year "with a few drinks", the need to let loose had been nagging at Anna like an itch that desperately needed to be scratched.

"Damn! Your cousin is looking fine tonight" Dee said, nudging Anna's elbow and handing her a drink.

"First of all, ick and second, didn't you hook up with Fiasco like last week?"

"A girl's gotta eat you know" Dee said, daintily sucking half her drink through an obnoxiously pink straw.

"The Byz Lats aren't a buffet!" Anna chuckled. "Anyway, I would give my cousin a wide berth, his girlfriend is crazy jealous. Like earrings off, hair tied back, instant beat down jealous."

"What about the other guy with them, the one with the neck tatt? Can you introduce me?"

Anna rolled her eyes at Dee. "Fine," she sighed, "just don't go getting knocked up by him. Lupe already has a whole bunch of kids he can't afford." She downed her drink in three gulps and grabbed Dee's hand. "Come on," Anna said "let's get this over and done with."

Four drinks later and Anna was standing awkwardly with her cousin and his girlfriend, who were in the midst of a domestic dispute that was threatening to go nuclear. Before Anna had even finished her second drink, Dee had disappeared with Lupe, hopefully to somewhere slightly classier than the ladies' toilet, a favourite sex destination. Anna was so busy trying to tune out her cousin and his girlfriend arguing that she didn't notice Fiasco sidling up to her. He bumped her shoulder gently and handed her another vodka tonic.

"That looks like it's about to get real ugly, real quick," he said, eyeing Gomes. "She take off her earrings yet?"

"I give it 5 minutes before she does" Anna said with a smile.

"You wanna dance?" he asked

"You do that?" Anna asked in surprise. Fiasco seemed like such a stationary kind of guy, she couldn't imagine him running let alone dancing.

"I got mad moves" Fiasco said proudly.

"Alright, but if you bust out the electric slide, you're on your own" Anna said, bumping him with her hip and following him onto the dance floor.

Juice was in the club for one reason, to get laid. Tomorrow it was all going down with Jimmy O and Stahl, and there was no way that he was heading into County for 14 months without getting his dick wet. The atmosphere at the clubhouse had been tense, and since most of the guys were also looking to get laid, only the ugliest, used up croweaters were left. Kozik had had the same look of disgust and that solidified his opinion about the girls in the clubhouse – if even a whore like Kozik had turned up his nose at them, they must be next level skanks. "Fuck this," Kozik said, "I'm heading to Oakland. Gotta be better pussy there." He downed the last of his beer and looked at Juice. "You coming?" Juice didn't even need a minute to think about it, he grabbed his keys and followed Kozik out.

The club was a teeming mass of bodies, moving in a serpentine rhythm. Kozik and Juice pushed their way to the bar and turned to survey the dance floor, or "pussy on offer" as Kozik had leered. True to his slutty reputation, Kozik managed to hook up with some girl in the time it took for Juice to order drinks, and by the time he turned to hand Kozik his Jack and Coke, Kozik had a girl straddling him with her hand down his pants. "Seriously?" Juice said in Kozik's direction, downing both the drinks and returning his attention to the dance floor.

Of all the women on the dance floor, she seemed like the only one who wasn't taking herself too seriously. He watched her roll her hips and pop her booty into the guy behind her before spinning around to do the running man and the sprinkler in a fit of laughter. He watched her lift the long curtain of silky dark hair and hastily wrap it up in a haphazard bun, fanning her face and miming the international sign for drink. The little guy in the beanie nodded and followed her off the dance floor but stopped halfway, pointing to a couple who were having a massive argument and heading in that direction to intervene.

Anna had a nice non-room-spinning vodka buzz going on, the kind that made her confident and prone to saying the first thing that came into her head. It also made her realise that she needed to get laid. She could feel the part of her brain that controlled caution slowly fading into the background, replaced with the optimistic filter that told her all her ideas were genius. This optimistic filter had her temporarily convinced that taking Fiasco home was a fantastic idea, until she noticed a muscular guy with a mohawk and head tattoos standing at the bar and looking at her. She altered her course of direction and made a beeline for him, squeezing herself between a guy with blonde spiky hair who was obviously getting a hand job and the guy with the mohawk.

"Nice running man" he said, smiling at her.

Anna grinned at him, looking him over to make sure that her initial impression of hotness hadn't been the vodka talking. "Thanks, I've been practising."

"So what are you celebrating?"

"Start of the summer vacation. You?"

"I'm most likely going to jail tomorrow."

"Oh...for what?"

"Ummm, it's complicated and I can't really tell you."

"It's not something sick is it? I mean you're not a serial killer or a rapist or a child molester. . . . ?"

"No, although if I was any of those things, I probably wouldn't tell you."

"Good point. So what's your name?"

"Most people call me Juice."

"Do you have a grown up name? You know one that doesn't make you sound like you're part of Fat Albert's crew?"

He looked slightly taken aback, most girls he met were so into banging a Son that they gushed over his nickname. "Juan Carlos."

"Sorry, I've been drinking and I have no verbal filter" the girl said, not particularly apologetically. "Juan Carlos, that's a nice name. I'm Anna" she said, holding out her hand.

There was a sudden surge of people at the bar, causing a domino jostling effect and pushing her into Juice. For a moment he could feel the swell of her breasts pushed up against him and smell the jasmine of her perfume. "So Anna, are you with that guy?" he said, placing a hand on her hip and pulling her closer to him.

"Nope, free as a bird."

"You want to get out of here?"

"You're not going to pretend to take an interest in my hobbies or crap like that? Don't want to hear all about my issues?" Anna asked in mock offence. Juice, not realising that Anna was pulling his leg, faltered for a moment. "Should I?" he asked, a little uncertainly. Seeing the confused look on his face, Anna burst out laughing. "Nah, my hobbies are kind of old ladyish and I don't have any issues. So my place?" she asked, taking him by the hand and leading him out of the club, waving to Fiasco and Gomes as she passed them.

A dip in the mattress, the jangling of a wallet chain and the confused stumbling of a person trying to make their exit without actually knowing where they were, were the sounds that stole the last few minutes of sleep. Groaning, Anna cracked an eye to see who or what had woken her up and the sight of a muscular back encased in an almost too tight tshirt brought the previous night roaring back to her; the tangle of limbs, sweaty skin gliding on skin, the weight of a man pressing down on her, making her dig her nails into him and beg him for more. Just the memory of it brought a flush to her skin and heat to pool below.

"Morning" she said, suddenly shy. Juan Carlos turned around and gave her a thousand watt grin. "Hey" he said, his voice still thick with morning rasp. "I, uh, I gotta go...I, damn this is awkward" he smiled, running his hand over his mohawk, "but thanks for last night." Anna sat up, forgetting that she was naked and quickly made a grab for the sheet. She hoped that the sight of her so dishevelled and with what she could only suppose was completely bonkers bed hair, wasn't making Juan Carlos regret last night. "No problem" she said, "I had a great time... I um want you to know that I don't normally do this, you know, take random guys home. So anyway, I hope you don't end up going to jail but if you do, then stay safe."

"Thanks, you too... wait, that was a dumb thing to say since you're not going to jail, it's just you look so damn hot sitting there all sexed up...so I gotta go" he said, looking just as confused by the verbal diarrhoea. Anna smiled at him and grabbed her robe. "Wait, I'll walk you out" she said, leading him to the door. As she climbed back into bed, she heard the chirp of her phone. Seeing Dee's name flash on the caller ID, she picked up the phone. "Hey Dee, what's up?"

"So I hear you took home some hot biker boy last night. " Dee's voice would always be just a little loud and chirpy for early morning.

"Where did you hear that from?"

"Fiasco."

"Wait, Fiasco said the guy was hot?"

"Nah, that was Gomes' girlfriend's opinion. Are you going to see him again?"

"Doubtful, it was just one of those one night things." Anna looked across at the clock which read 7:45. "Hey Dee, want to go get some breakfast?"

"Duh, why do you think I was calling? I want to hear all about your night walking on the slutty side of the street! See you in 15 minutes."

"K, love you long time."


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

**Author's Note: Thanks to everybody who took the time to read and review, it really makes my day to read your support. **

**The Present**

Happy unlocked the door and reached across Anna to switch on the light, his hand ghosting across her breast. Anna ignored the goosebumps his touch generated and shifted the weight of Felix in her arms, popping her hip slightly to balance him before walking inside. The apartment was small, spotless and gave absolutely nothing away about the people who had lived there, much like the Sons themselves. Stepping past Happy, Anna gently lay Felix on the couch, brushing his hair aside to plant a gentle kiss on his forehead. "Baby boy, it's time to wake up" Anna murmured in a quiet voice. The little boy stirred, his eyelids fluttering open to gaze at his mother. "Hi," she smiled, "would you like a glass of water?" Felix blinked a few more times and nodded silently. Anna went into the spotless kitchen to fetch the water, and when she returned, Felix was sitting up and taking in his surroundings.

"Who's that?" Felix said, noticing Happy for the first time.

"That's Happy, he helped us find this apartment. We're going to stay here for a couple of days."

"Is he staying?" Felix queried, tilting his head to the side to appraise Happy.

"Yeah little man, just to make sure that you and your ma are ok."

Anna turned away to roll her eyes, it was kind of obscene that Happy being there was being re-branded as assistance and protection. Still, she reasoned, what else would you tell a four year old? Plus, it wasn't like Happy was some ogre, the man was fine as hell. If he wanted to stay, she had no problem getting in a sneaky perve.

"Mama? What's for dinner?" Felix asked.

"Good question baby, I guess we'll have to order some food"

"Check the cupboards, there might be something to eat there" Happy said. He was starving but had no intention of spending money on takeout if there was free food to eat at Wendy's.

"Ummm ok, if you're sure the lady who owns this apartment won't mind" Anna said, walking into the kitchen. Opening the cupboards, Anna couldn't help but burst out laughing. All of the cans of food were grouped together and stacked with military precision, the labels facing outwards, Felix did the same thing with his toys. It had freaked her out the first time she saw it and had sent Felix off to be tested for autism, but it turned out that he had just inherited his father's penchant for order. She pulled out her phone and took a snap of the cupboard, something to show Felix when he got older, something to explain where his little OCD quirks came from.

"Anything?" Happy asked, coming into the kitchen and standing behind Anna. He watched her reach up to move some cans and caught a flash of caramel skin and a small tattoo running across her hip in delicate cursive '_De cuerdo y loco todos tenemos un poco_._'_ Eyeing her long legs and the curve of her ass, he could see why the idiot had been banging her. He could envision those legs wrapped around him, pushing him further inside her, the noises she'd make and the smell of her jasmine perfume mixed with sweat.

"Spam, creamed corn and sauerkraut" Anna said, closing the cupboard. She turned around and almost crashed into Happy, who apparently had no sense of personal space. Putting her hands on his chest to steady herself, she could feel the warmth of his skin through his tshirt, causing all manner of filthy thoughts to flash through her mind. She withdrew her hand like she'd been scorched and looked up at him, trying not to wilt under the intensity of his dark stare. _"Get a grip Anna, he's here to babysit you not fuck _you." she told herself sternly. "Sorry," she said out loud, "I wasn't expecting you to be so close. We're getting takeout, my treat. Pizza?"

"Yeah, I'll order" he rumbled, pulling out his phone.

"Alright Felix, let's get you into the bath before the pizza arrives" Anna called over to Felix, who jumped off the couch and ran towards the bathroom. "I'm going to give Felix a bath" Anna said to Happy, who'd just got off the phone. "I'll go pick up the pizza, it's two dollars cheaper than delivery" Happy replied. A smile tugged at Anna's mouth and she pressed her lips together to stifle it, turning around to get her purse. "Ummm ok, so here's some cash" she said, handing him a twenty and heading off to the bathroom.

SOA SOA SOA

The first thing Happy heard when he re-entered the apartment was singing. Listening more carefully, he could hear Felix joyfully singing along to Bruce Springsteen's 'Dancing in the Dark'.

"You can't start a fire, worryin' about your little world falling apart. This gun's for hire even if we're just dancing in the dark" could be heard through the bathroom door. He put the pizza on the counter top, poured himself a drink from Wendy's secret stash and took a seat on the couch. Anna emerged from the bathroom a little later, followed by Felix wearing pyjamas that were covered in pictures of motorbikes.

"Hey, are you ready to eat?" Anna asked, moving to the kitchen to get some plates.

Happy replied on a nod and took a seat at the table. Anna placed a slice of pizza in front of Felix and tucked a giant napkin into the front of his pyjamas. "He's a super messy eater" she offered as explanation, "I really should have bathed him after he ate". Happy chuckled, "just like his father." The table descended into silence, only Felix slurping the cheese off the pizza could be heard. Anna got the sense that Happy was a man who used words sparingly and it had been a sad and stressful day for both she and Felix, who despite his bath time singing, wasn't himself. Contrary to popular opinion, Happy actually liked little kids. They always said exactly what they were thinking and took joy in the smallest things. The last few weeks without Abel and Thomas had been quiet, he kind of missed hanging out with them at Gemma's place. Looking across at Felix, who was a miniature Juice in both looks and mannerisms, Happy couldn't help but grin. "So Springsteen huh?" he asked. "Yeah," Anna replied, noting that Felix was far too engrossed in his pizza to reply. "He loves it. My dad drives him to kindergarten every day and he always has Springsteen playing in the car, somewhere along the line it just stuck. You're a little weirdo sometimes aren't you Felix" Anna said, ruffling Felix's hair. "Yup!" he replied through a mouthful of pizza.

SOA SOA SOA

Going by comic book definitions, and from what the nuns at school had told him, Fiasco knew he was not a good man. He had been killing people, running protection rackets and peddling girls since he was 16 - he was no gentleman pimp like Nero had become, he was hood rat through and through. His mother was down on her knees in church at every opportunity, begging God to save her son's soul, but Fiasco knew it was no use. All the prayers and lit candles in the world would never make up for all the bad things he had done, when his time came, he knew it would be bloody and because of the life he lived.

Anna, on the other hand, was a good person. She stayed at that shit heap of a school when she could have been earning more money in a fancy private one, and never made the parents feel shitty when their kids fucked up. When she'd got knocked up to a biker who was in prison, nobody tried to lord it over her because she never made people feel small. In their tiny little corner of Oakland, she had won the respect and earned the protection of a lot of people, including the Mayans and Byz Lats.

When she'd asked him if he knew where Juice was, he'd lied and said he didn't know, but he had enough friends in the system to know what had happened. He'd spoken to Marcus Alvarez about it and, even though it had been the Mayans who handed Juice back over to the Sons, they had agreed to spare Anna from knowing the horror of Juice's fate. Worst case, they would tell her that he was killed in a random act of prison violence. But then she'd refused to let it go and driven to Charming to look for Juice.

From the moment Nero had gone into business with the Sons, Fiasco had made it his business to know everything about the them since he had to protect Byz Lat interests. He soon learned that in a world of bad men doing bad things, the Sons acted like they were the white knights, like their activities had some kind of moral high ground: they sold guns but not heroin, they protected their town but allowed violence to rain down everywhere else, they gave their word but double crossed everyone. It pissed Fiasco off, at least the Byz Lats, Niners, Lin Triad, Mayans and even the AB made no pretences about who they were or what they did. It seemed particularly cruel that these false heroes were about to destroy Anna's life by revealing the truth about Juice's death, probably in front of poor Felix - Chibs could be a heartless fucker. He pulled out his phone and punched in her number.

"Hey Chica, it's me. Did they give you any answers?"

"Hey, no nothing yet. I have to meet with them tomorrow. They have Happy babysitting me right now, like I'm some kind of threat to them."

"No mames? Listen, there's some stuff you need to know before you meet with them."

**Thanks again for reading**. **Reviews are always welcome!**


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

**Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, I'm kinda awkward with smut in real life and writing it is way harder! Also, I keep forgetting to add the disclaimer that I don't own any of the characters except for Anna and Felix**

**Four Years and 19 Weeks ago**

"Hey Gomes?"

Gomes looked up at his cousin and knew there was a problem. She put up a good facade of strength, but that's all it was, a front. The way she twisted the ring on her finger and flicked her fingernails against each other told him that something was wrong. He stood up from the table and walked over to his cousin.

"Sup cuz?" he asked, looking at her intently to try and gauge the severity of the problem.

"Seriously, you guys are playing dominoes? Way to live up to the Latino gangbanger stereotype, did they make you watch 'Blood In, Blood Out' before you joined the Byz Lats?

"Yeah, it was part of the exam" Gomes deadpanned. "Stop messing around Anna, and tell me what's wrong."

"What makes you think something's wrong?" Anna asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest and jutting her chin out in defiance.

"The fingernail flicking" he said, pointing at Anna's hand. "It's your tell."

"Fine" she said rolling her eyes. "Do you know anybody called Juan Carlos?"

Gomes snorted. "You're kidding me right? I grew up in Fruitvale and am in a Latino gang, I know like a thousand people called Juan Carlos. Can you give me anything else to go by?"

Anna racked her brain for more information. She knew it had been a good night but she was still a little hazy on the specifics. What she did remember about Juan Carlos didn't exactly paint either of them in a good light, and for all she knew, the things he'd told her could have just been a line. Plus, it wasn't like 'awesome in bed' and 'hung' would be useful descriptors. She did briefly contemplate saying 'I walked weirdly the next day' just to mess with her cousin but thought better of it. Sighing heavily, she looked up and met Gomes' inquiring stare. "Ok, here's what I know, he's called Juan Carlos, he had this weird mohawk and head tattoos, he was wearing a kutte but not Mayan...and he might be in prison" she added almost on a whisper.

Gomes' eyes sparkled with humour, he'd never bought into the myth that Anna was super straight-laced, she had way to much gangsta rap on her ipod for him to buy into the demure school teacher schtick. Anna could get hella rowdy when she wanted to, there had been plenty of times in high school that Anna had proven that, hell she'd lost her virginity to Fiasco. "And why would you need to find him?" he asked.

"I'm pregnant" she said, flicking her nails against one another more fervently than before.

"Damn that sucks. Did you tell your ma and pops?"

"Yeah," Anna said, "they're pretty chilled about that kind of stuff and this neighbourhood if you make it past 17 without getting knocked up, you're doing well, so they said they'd help me out if I needed."

"How'd they take the news that your baby daddy is in the big house? Bet that shattered their dreams for their perfect Latina princess." Gomes loved his Tia Clara and Tio Alejandro but they had put a lot of pressure on Anna to be perfect when she was growing up. They had very clear goals for their kids, and they expected them to meet them.

"Well, they weren't thrilled but what they could they do? It's my choice and they just have to deal with it. But now I have to tell _him_, but I don't actually know who he is. What kind of person gets pregnant to a stranger? That's some Maury Povich shit right there, it's a complete mess."

Gomes wrapped Anna in a bear hug. "Don't worry, I'll find him" he said, patting her on the back.

"Thanks cuz. I don't know what I'd do without you" she smiled back at him.

SOA SOA SOA

Stockton Penitentiary was hands down the most depressing place Anna had ever visited, the walls were brown, the floor was brown and the tables were the kind of brushed steel that butchers used to use back in the day. All around her sat women waiting for their family members to come out, a kind of dejected hope etched into their faces. A couple of tables over, sat a woman with dark hair, her baby bump pushing up against the edge of the table. She looked over at Anna and gave a small smile, a 'can you believe we're in this place?' kind of smile that Anna returned. She looked over at her cousin who was sitting on another table, waiting for his friend to come out. Gomes had friends currently residing in pretty much every corrections facility in California, so it hadn't taken long to find out which Juan Carlos Anna was looking for. Much to Anna's intense shame, Gomes had then insisted on coming with her, although he'd relented and made arrangements to visit a friend rather than hover behind Anna and look menacing. To make matters worse, he'd refused to go in Anna's inconspicuous hatchback and had insisted on borrowing Fiasco's cherry red pimp mobile.

The buzz of the security gate signalled that prisoners were entering the visitor's room. Anna watched Juice enter, his hair was longer than before but otherwise he looked like she remembered him. He was searching the visitor's room trying to identify who his visitor was when his eyes locked on Anna. She watched the look of surprised confusion flash across his features as he walked towards her and took the seat opposite. Anna sucked in a lungful of air to calm herself and pushed her hair behind her ears.

"Hi" Anna said on the exhale. "You probably don't remember me..."

"You're kidding right?" Juice interrupted. "I'm a little confused about why you're visiting me but of course I remember you, it's Josie right?"

Anna opened her mouth to clarify, a little disappointed that she was so unmemorable, but Juice's laugh stopped her. "Just messing with you. How are you _Anna_?"

"Hey, sorry to surprise you like this but um ok so ..." she trailed off. "Sorry," she smiled, "let me start again. Ok so, I came here to tell you that I'm pregnant...with your baby, if my being here didn't make that bit clear." She slid the ultrasound picture across the table. Seeing that Juice was about to speak, she held up her hand, her words tumbling out in a rush. "Please let me get all this out, I've been planning what to say for weeks. I don't want you to feel obligated to help out or take any kind of responsibility because when I made the decision to have this baby, I did it because I knew I could do it by myself. My parents and my brother can help out too if I need it, and I have a whole bunch of cousins, uncles and aunts. I know we don't know each other at all so I'm leaving it up to you to decide how involved you want to be in this." She let out a relieved sigh, "Ok, I'm done."

Anna watched as Juice's fingers walked across the table and took the ultrasound picture. His eyes raked the picture and his brow furrowed in concentration. In the silence, she could hear the other tables chatting about surprisingly mundane things, it was so unlike the type of conversation she would expect in a prison.

"How far along?" he asked eventually

"Twenty weeks"

"Why don't you have a bump?"

Anna stood up to show Juice her tiny belly. "I do, you just couldn't see it before"

"Oh, cool... Can I keep this" he said, tapping the picture gently.

"Sure, you helped make it after all" Anna said smiling. "Does this mean you're in?"

Juice thought about what it would mean to be 'in'. He'd spent most of his life looking for a family to become a part of, and although the Sons were his family, he wanted one of his own; and now this beautiful caramel skinned girl, this girl with the glossy hair and the dark green eyes, was offering it to him. "Yeah," he grinned, eyes sparkling, "I'm in...so... now what?" he asked.

"Well, I'm not sure. You're the first man in prison I've gotten knocked up by, and I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing" Anna said, laughing, "Do you want me to keep visiting you?"

"Yeah," Juice said, "I'd like that."

The guard signalled the end of visiting hours and Anna stood up, extracting her long legs from the bench and smoothing her tshirt over her bump. "Well, I guess I gotta go. I'll see you next time" she said, suddenly unsure of the appropriate farewell, a handshake seemed overly formal for the man she was having a baby with, but, she reminded herself, she didn't actually know him. She opened her arms and leaned across the table, finding herself locked in a bumpy hug where nobody seemed to know where to put their arms and everybody was unsure of how much pressure to use. Deciding that the whole thing had reached it's capacity for awkward, she pulled away.

"Anna?" Juice said hesitantly, "do...do you think I could feel the bump?"

"Sure!" she said, "I'm surprised you asked, everybody from my students down to the old ladies at the greengrocer just does it. I have absolutely no personal space, my belly has become public domain." She reached out and took his hand, gently placing it on where the movement was. She watched Juice's face as he felt the baby swirling under the surface. With his eyes wide and his mouth slightly open, he looked like a little kid eating pop rocks for the first time: surprised and overjoyed, in complete wonder. Anna was so relieved to see Juice so excited, that she pulled Juice into a proper hug before leaving the visitor's room, the smell of jasmine trailing behind her. Juice ran a hand over his mohawk, ten minutes ago he was just a dude in prison, now he was going to be somebody's _dad_.

SOA SOA SOA

Juice had been waiting for this day for fourteen long months. Everything he had ever heard or surmised about prison had turned out to be true, it was at once terrifying, mind numbingly boring and completely soul destroying; a dehumanised world of grey – grey walls, grey blankets, grey food and grey faces without joy or hope. He was thankful that at least he had his brothers with him, it made it slightly more bearable, how Opie had managed to do five years by himself, he had no idea. But today he was getting out, today he would get to see the outside world, today he would get to see his son in a room that didn't have armed guards. As he walked the final pathway that would lead him out of Stockton, he could barely contain his impatience. He wanted to push everybody aside and run the final meters so that he could clear the final gate, get on his bike and ride far away from that hell hole.

He'd told Anna that he'd be at her house late, and in her usual easygoing way, she'd said it would be fine since she'd be up feeding Felix anyway. Since that day she'd come to tell him about the baby, he'd got to know her a lot better. She had almost a sixth sense for reading people and she seemed to take everything in her stride. Juice saw the world in binary code, he could hack anything and was almost a savant when it came to maths but he misread social cues all the time and small things sent his brain into an unstoppable flurry of thoughts which fragmented and refused to refocus.

It was pushing 2am when he finally climbed the stairs of Anna's apartment, his boots thumping heavily with each step. As he reached over to press the doorbell, the door swung open. There she stood, wearing boy shorts and a ratty old Oakland Raiders tshirt, their son in her arms. Juice could feel that he was shamelessly ogling Anna. As he took in the long legs and the way her tshirt was clinging to her breasts, he let out a breath he didn't realise he was holding. He had meant to find some croweater to take the edge off more than a year in prison, but the day had been so crazy that he'd never got around to it. Now he found himself with the beginning of a pretty serious hard on and standing in front of this beautiful woman who was smiling at him.

"Hey!" she said, "perfect timing, he just stopped crying but he's not asleep yet. Come on in" she said, moving out of the doorway. As she turned and walked down the hallway, Juice could see where her tshirt had ridden up to reveal more of those tiny black boy shorts and the sleek curves encased within them. Looking at the long ponytail swinging behind her in time with the sway of her hips, he inadvertently licked his lips. "Damn" he said under his breath before following Anna.

Felix's nursery was simple but homey, painted in muted earth tones with a bright Mexican rug on the floor. "Take a seat" Anna said, gesturing to the rocking chair in the corner. Once he was seated, Anna handed Felix over to Juice and gave him the bottle to feed Felix. For the first time, Juice had the chance to really study his son. Brushing his hand over Felix's dark hair, he looked down into large brown eyes that mirrored his own. Gently he rocked back and forth as Felix hungrily sucked on his bottle, marvelling that he, Juan Carlos Ortiz, who everybody called "idiot" had managed to make this perfect little guy. He looked up at Anna, his eyes sparkling. "He's perfect" he said, his voice catching a little. Anna's smile was blinding, "Yeah, he is. Hey, are you hungry? My mum sent over some food, I can heat you up some. "

"Starving actually" he said grinning. As Anna went to get him some food, Juice sat and watched as Felix's eyes began to close, his long eyelashes fluttering until they closed completely. Standing up, he gently laid Felix in his crib and went out to join Anna.

Only the curve of Anna's ass and legs were visible as she rummaged in the fridge. Standing up, she put the bowl of chimichurri on the counter and turned to face Juice. "Hey, I hope you like Cuban food, my parents had a party and. . . . oof" Anna's words were cut off as Juice charged at her, pushing her up against the fridge and pressing his lips to hers. The force of his kisses and the feel of his tongue brushing against hers caused her skin to flame. Feverishly, Anna pushed Juice's kutte off his shoulders and began yanking his tshirt off as Juice sucked and bit her neck. He pushed harder against her, his belt buckle causing the most delicious pressure and making her wrap her leg around him and pull him closer. Juice grabbed her ass cheek, half massaging and half grabbing before sliding his hand down the front of her boy shorts. Just like that night at the club, Anna felt like she had lost all control. Her only thoughts were to get Juice out of his clothes and inside her, and she began yanking on his belt and undoing his pants as he dragged them both down to the kitchen floor. Pulling off her tshirt and boy shorts, he raked his eyes over body, noticing that aside from having bigger breasts, Anna's body looked like it did that first night. "I don't know how long I'll last" Juice said, looking down at her and planting a kiss on her collarbone.

"We've got all night so for now, just shut up and fuck me" Anna replied.

He eased himself inside of her, filling her up entirely and causing her to let out a moan. "Fuck me, that's good" Anna said, half gasping and half sighing as Juice gained momentum.

SOA SOA SOA

The sound of Felix's cries over the baby monitor woke Anna up. Almost every muscle in her body ached as she tried to extricate herself from Juice's arm which was flung across her chest, pinning her to the mattress.

"Where are you going?" Juice said, waking from Anna's movement and pulling her closer to him_._

"Baby's crying, need to feed him and probably change him too"

"I'll do it" Juice said, planting a kiss on her forehead and getting out of bed.

"Do you know what to do?" Anna asked.

Juice's grin was sheepish. "Uhhh, actually no"

"Come on, I'll teach you" Anna said, climbing out of bed and ignoring her aching muscles.

**Author's Note **

**Thanks again for reading, reviews and comments always welcome!**


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

**Author's Note: Gaagh so I got stuck with this story and trying to move it along at the right pace. I'm still not 100% in love with this chapter, but thought I'd post it anyway so please let me know what you think. I must say that writing this chapter has given me mad respect for all you fanfic writers who are churning out 2 chapters a week! **

She'd flown by him, her hair swishing behind her like a cape then there had been the slam of the bathroom door and the sound of running water. A small part of Happy told him to go and see if she was ok, but growing up with his mom and aunt, both feisty Latinas, he knew to stay away from angry and emotional women. Besides, Anna's actions that afternoon had made it perfectly clear that she could take care of herself, she didn't need a man to rescue her. Instead, he poured himself another drink and went back to flipping through the channels on TV.

Crouched down by the bathtub with a towel to muffle the sound, Anna let it all out and bawled big, ugly, gasping sobs that she didn't know were in her. Fiasco had told her everything, how Juice had gone to Alvarez and how Alvarez had handed him over to Jax. Anna wasn't in the least bit surprised by Alvarez's actions, local gossip had it that he'd sacrificed his own son for his club, but it was Jax's lie to Juice that sickened her. To trade on Juice's desperation and let him believe he could earn his way back in was despicable. Anna knew that all Juice had ever wanted was to fit in, to be part of a family, and she also knew that Juice's position within the Sons had become increasingly tenuous. In the last few years, Juice had spent more time at Anna's and she had learned more and more about him. There were very few secrets between them, he had told her about his father and the stolen brick of coke, she told him about her overwhelming fear that she had let life pass her by in her attempt to live up to her parent's expectations and the pressure she put on herself.

She mourned for Juice and for the father Felix had lost. It seemed like an understatement to use such a small adjective as sad, but that's what it was. A life lost and a relationship between a father and son over before it began, all because of one man's willingness to take advantage of another man's shame.

Her mind flashed back to the last time she had seen Juice. He'd arrived at her apartment, eyes wild and with the twitchy demeanour of the mentally unstable, constantly looking over his shoulder for unseen enemies. She'd taken him into her bed in a clumsy attempt to expel his demons, and he'd gripped onto Anna like he was afraid she'd disappear, bruising her hips as his fingers dug into her flesh. Afterwards, she'd drifted off to sleep, only to awaken later and find the bed empty and her sheets cold to the touch. As she went into the kitchen to get some water, a movement from Felix's room caught her eye. Juice was crouched down by Felix's bed, watching the rise and fall of the little boy's chest with an intense concentration. Anna tiptoed into the room and gently placed her hand on Juice's shoulder. At her feather light touch, Juice turned to face her.

"I don't like to be alone" he said miserably and looking so much like Felix that it tugged at Anna's heart.

"You're not alone" Anna said, crouching down next to him, "You have us."

"I wanted to make sure Felix was safe"

"He is"

"I need to protect him"

"You will but now you need sleep" Anna said, standing up and holding out her hand. Once they were back in bed, Anna wrapped herself around Juice like a poultice, trying to withdraw all his anxiety. Gently she rubbed his chest in a slow soothing motion and felt the tension in Juice start to uncoil.

"Anna?" he asked in small, broken voice.

"Yeah?"

"Don't let Felix grow up to be like me"

Anna lifted her head and rested her chin on his chest. Juice was staring miserably at the ceiling but she could see the glossy sheen of tears in his eyes. She gently tilted his head so that he was looking at her. "Now you listen to me Juan Carlos Ortiz, if Felix turns out to be one tenth of the man you are, I will be overjoyed. Whatever is going on, I want you to know that you will always have us. Nothing will ever change that."

"Ok" Juice sighed, looking unconvinced. Anna kissed him forcefully, desperately trying to convey the reassurance that her words obviously hadn't. Whatever spectre was looming over Juice, it was obviously destroying him.

Shaking herself from her reverie, Anna could feel her eyelids thick from her tears and her eyelashes sticking together. Pulling herself up, she peered at her reflection in the mirror, recoiling slightly at the puffy eyes and splotchy skin. Her mother always said that it was important to take time to grieve, but when the initial sadness had been expelled, there were plans to be made. She needed to collect Juice's belongings, and find out where he had been buried. The Sons had taken Felix's father away and she owed it to him to preserve the mementos of Juice's life so that as Felix grew into a man, he would at least have concrete things to stop the memories fading. Dealing with Chibs was another matter, it was imperative that she make it clear that she posed no threat, Fiasco had told her about Tara and Gemma and Donna and Luanne. Whether it was the Sons themselves or their enemies, bad things happened to women who got too close to Sons, and Anna needed to make it clear that they knew she had no interest in them.

In an attempt to remove the obvious signs of crying, Anna turned on the cold tap, peeled off her clothes and stood under the icy spray until her skin was covered in goosebumps, planning her strategy for the meeting with Chibs.

SOA SOA SOA

The click of the bathroom door opening didn't go unnoticed by Happy, nor did the soft padding sound of Anna's feet as she moved towards the bedroom. In his peripheral vision, he could see that she was wearing nothing but one of Wendy's old towels and turned his head to take in the sight, struck by how natural and _real_ she seemed. "Help yourself to Wendy's clothes" he said. The masculine rumble of Happy's voice stopped Anna in her tracks. Knowing that he was watching her, she turned to face him, meeting his black stare. The force of his gaze coupled with the smirk tugging at his lips had Anna torn between clutching the towel around her tighter and popping her ass out a little to make herself look sexier. "Thanks" she said, breaking eye contact and opening the bedroom door. _"We've discussed this already Del Valle, you didn't come all this way to get laid, no matter how hot this man is_. _Get a grip" _she told herself firmly as she rummaged in the drawers for a tank top and shorts.

SOA SOA SOA

"Thanks for letting me borrow the clothes, I wasn't expecting to stay the night" Anna said, taking a seat on the couch next to Happy. It was obvious that she had been crying but Happy respected that she hadn't tried to use her tears as some kind of emotional leverage.

"Why did you have overnight stuff for the kid in your car if you didn't know you were stayin?"

"I thought Felix might want to spend the night with his dad so I packed a bag just in case. I was planning to drive back to Oakland."

"Were you his old lady?" Happy asked without taking his eyes of the TV.

"No, it was a one night stand. When I found out about the pregnancy, I went to see him in prison. When he got out, he would come and stay with us so that he and Felix could spend time together."

"You don't seem like the kind of girl who gets knocked up by some biker" he said.

An amused look crossed Anna's face and she cocked an eyebrow. People had been making incorrect assumptions about her her entire life. "You've known me for a couple of hours, what type of person do you think I am?" she asked.

Happy turned to appraise her. Anna could hear the slosh of bourbon as he took a sip, his eyes never leaving her face. She watched his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed, mentally swatting away the image of his lips licking and biting every inch of her body. "I'm not sure yet, just not that kind" Happy said, returning to the TV. He felt the couch dip as Anna went into the kitchen, returning with a glass and some crusty looking ice cubes. Without saying a word, he poured some of the bourbon into her glass and they sat their drinking in silence.

So what's with the tattoo on your neck? Anna asked, breaking the silence and gesturing with her drink. Happy looked at her confused, either it was the dumbest question ever asked or searingly insightful, he couldn't decide. "What kind of dumbass question is that?" he queried.

"Well, I mean 'I live I die I kill for my family' is assumed isn't it? Who doesn't think that? Was it some kind of revelation to you, or were you worried you'd forget?" Anna asked, peering at him over the rim of her glass with those dark green eyes, glinting mischievously. Women didn't sass Happy very often, or even crack jokes about him, and he had to admit he was kind of impressed.

"Yeah? Well what about you Miss Priss, what ink do you have?" he asked, topping up her glass with more bourbon.

"Well I know you saw the one on my hip when you were perving on me in the kitchen," Anna said matter of factly, lifting up her tank top slightly and swivelling to show him the tattoo he'd seen earlier. "Then there's this one" she said, showing the other side, before turning back around and lifting her tank top up further to show her ribcage, "and this one."

Happy traced the tattoos lightly, noticing the goosebumps that rose under his touch. "There are all kinds of love in this world but never the same love twice," he read out loud. "'Sometimes you will never know the value of something, until it becomes a memory' Dr. Seuss, what the hell? What's going on with the placement of this ink?" he asked. "These are like tattoo post it notes, just randomly slapped on places.

"I admit it's no insane clown with bloodied meat cleaver, now _that's _a tattoo I'm sure you'll love when you're eighty and in a nursing home" Anna retorted, pointing at more of Happy's ink.

SOA SOA SOA

Happy watched as she shifted in her sleep, snuggling closer to him and tilting her hips so that she was pressed against his thigh. For the first time that he could remember, Happy woke up with a woman he hadn't had sex with, and found that he didn't hate it. Sure, her hair was tickling his nose and given the choice, he would have greatly preferred to fuck her and sleep in a bed by himself, but the feel of her soft skin under his calloused hands and the lingering smell of jasmine wasn't unwelcome. He shifted slightly to give Anna more room and went back to sleep.

When she woke, Anna found that she was sprawled out on the couch and leaning against the world's most uncomfortable pillow. Her last memory had been drinking on the couch with Happy and making fun of each other's tattoos. Stretching out a hand, she tentatively felt around to get her bearings. "Best not touch things you can't handle little girl" came a gravelly chuckle as her hand came into contact with warm skin. Anna sat bolt upright, and looked down to see her hand resting on the waistband of Happy's boxers. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry – that was totally an accident" she gasped, horrified that she had almost grabbed Happy's penis.

"If you wanted to touch it, all you had to do was ask" Happy chuckled.

Anna grinned and got off the couch. "Good to know" she said over her shoulder as she headed to the bathroom.

Happy ran a hand over his bleary eyes and went into the kitchen to see if there was any coffee. As he was peering into the cupboard, he heard the unmistakeable sound of little feet on linoleum. "Hi!" said a small voice coming from about knee level. Happy looked down to find Felix's enormous brown eyes gazing up at him. "Hey little man" he said, thinking _goddamn that kid is cute_.

"We're going to get pancakes. You wanna come?" Felix asked, his face breaking into a Juice-like grin.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

**Author's Note: There's a lot of conversation in this chapter so I apologise if it reads more like a script. Thank you for reading, please feel free to leave a review. **

Like most of the last 24 hours, breakfast had been surreal, to say the least, the conversation swinging wildly between the inertia of silence and Felix's childish chatter. Completely preoccupied with working out how she was going to deal with Chibs and get Juice's belongings, Anna pushed her pancakes around the plate and tuned out Felix's conversation about Lego which seemed to be entirely one-sided. She was contemplating giving Fiasco a call when Felix's singsong voice shook her out of her daze.

"Mr Happy do you have a dad?" he asked, gazing up at Happy, his eyes enormous.

"Nah little man"

"Is he dead in heaven like my dad?"

"Yeah, maybe somewhere a little south of there"

"Like San Diego?"

A smile tugged at the corner of Happy's mouth and Anna detected a hint of a sparkle in his usually blank stare. "Yeah, little man, like San Diego."

"Mr Happy?"

"Yeah kid"

"Can you please cut up my pancake into smaller bits? My mouth is too small"

Wordlessly, Happy leaned over and began cutting up Felix's pancakes. Looking up at Anna, he found her staring at him in stunned silence, her green eyes glimmering like rock pools. "Thank you" she mouthed, taking a sip of coffee.

SOA SOA SOA

The chime of the door followed by the skippity skip sounds of little feet on linoleum signalled Felix, Anna and Happy's arrival in the shop. "Hi!" Felix sing songed to the shop in general. Chucky came out from behind the counter, a huge grin on his face and his fingers clicking against each other in excitement.

"Hi Felix!" he grinned, adding a shy "hi Anna" as an afterthought.

"Hey Chucky, how are you today?" Anna said, returning his greeting with genuine warmth, "do you think you'll be able to keep an eye on my son while I chat to the prez?"

"I accept that" Chucky replied, excitedly eyeing the legos that Felix had put on the table.

"Great, it won't be for very long, I called my friend Dee and she is going to pick Felix up and take him back to Oakland, I'll be out of here by today but just in case..." Anna's voice trailed off, leaving the unforeseeable unsaid.

SOA SOA SOA

Chibs had spent most of the evening trying to piece together information about Juice's mystery baby mama. Fiasco hadn't picked up his phone, so Chibs had had to rely on what he could glean from Marcus Alvarez and Nero. Nero hadn't been able to offer anything new, although Marcus had given him some background information on Anna, warning that if anything happened to his kid's favourite teacher "there would be problems." In lots of ways, she reminded him of Tara – well educated and completely vouched for by outlaws and gang members, despite not being one.

"Sit" Chibs instructed, pointing to the stool at the counter. Inwardly, Anna gave a sigh of relief that they were staying downstairs. From her spot at the counter, she could see Felix happily playing lego with Chucky at a table outside so she knew he was safe, plus she knew that she was safe at the counter. There were too many people on the street for Chibs to do anything to her - upstairs he could kill her without anybody being the wiser. Once seated, Chibs began his interrogation, firing off staccato questions.

"Who are you and why are you here?"

"I told you yesterday, Anna Del Valle. I came here to see Juan.. Juice because I hadn't heard from him in a while. I thought he might want to spend time with his son, but then you told me he was dead, so I made the decision to stay and collect Juice's belongings. I want my son to have mementos of his father."

"Why didn't Juice tell anybody he had a kid?"

"I don't know" Anna shrugged.

Seemingly satisfied with Anna's answers, Chibs tone thawed slightly, suddenly taking on the smug air of an elder statesman. "What happened to Juice was. . . . unforeseen. He went into prison to help the club out with a problem we were having..."

"Yesterday, Happy said Juice was a rat. Why would you trust him to help you?" Anna interrupted, an almost imperceptible ripple of disbelief crossing her features before her mask of impassiveness returned.

"He was making amends" Chibs replied smoothly, "We thought he was protected inside and . . . "

Anna held up her hand to stop Chibs. She had thought she would be able to contain her rage, but then Chibs had looked at her with that disdainful smirk, ready to spout the club sanctioned version of events, and she'd wanted to reach across the table and bash his head into the Formica until her rage went away and he was nothing but a bloody pulp.

"Please don't spin doctor me, I know the whole story so don't waste my time with your fraudulent fable of brotherhood and honor. You can tell yourself and anybody else stupid enough to believe you that Juice was a rat, but I am not one of those people. We both know that Juice loved this club more than anything, and everything he did was because he was trying to protect it. He never did anything that you and Jax didn't do."

"He was a coward who lied, stole and killed a brother to save himself." Chibs' tone was dismissive, but Anna noted his eyes narrowing and the glint of anger behind them.

Rage washed over Anna and she lost all sense of fear as the adrenaline coursed through her. "You want to talk about cowardice?" she asked anger adding a strong timbre to her voice. "How about the man who killed his mother and another club member and then killed himself just to avoid the punishment awaiting him?"

Chibs' hand slammed down and he lunged across the counter, nose to nose with Anna. "Don't you DARE to talk about Jax like that! He did what he had to do to keep his family safe. You don't know shit about him you filthy gash!" he roared. Anna didn't even flinch, noting that while the other club members had backed away from a confrontation that was rapidly unravelling, Happy had positioned himself behind his president, his stance wide, hands by his side.

"Oh I know," she said, her voice low, steady and laced with fury. "I have no loyalty to your dead president. _I know_ Jackson Teller is the reason that my son will never get to know his father. _I know_ that Jackson Teller is the reason that Juice is buried in some shitty unmarked prison grave that _my son _will never get to visit. He took my son's father away and as VP you backed him the minute you told Juice to kill himself. Your selective brotherhood sickens me. At least in Oakland nobody is pretending to be fighting the righteous fight. Just give me Juice's stuff so I can get the fuck out of here."

Despite the fact he usually banged the most trashy, submissive and easy-to-take-advantage-of croweaters, Happy loved strong, classy women. His mom and his aunt both had formidable reputations in Bakersfield as being women that you didn't cross, neither being afraid to take you out in a verbal smack down. His mom in particular, had been like a tigress, protecting her young with the same furious grace that Anna was exhibiting now. He looked at her squared shoulders and the strong jut of Anna's jaw and realised that she had pulled her hair back into a bun and wasn't wearing earrings. Her Oakland upbringing was shining through - she was more Chola than she let on, he thought with an inward smirk.

Suddenly it was as if the fight went out of Chibs. His hand still itched to teach her a lesson about mouthing off to the president of the club, but deep down he knew she was right. Jax _had_ bent the rules to suit himself and seeing Juice's kid this morning reminded him of how Roosevelt, then Jax and then himself had destroyed all the light in Juice's eyes. This woman wasn't doing anything that a reasonable parent wouldn't do to help their child remember a dead parent, hell Fiona would have Molotoved the whole place and murdered everyone's kids if she was in the same position.

"Aye", he sighed. "You can take his stuff then you get far the fuck away from Charming because next time I won't be nearly so patient. Tig will go with you to Redwoody and make sure you don't take anything pertinent to club business. His kutte stays, club property" Chibs said, pointing his finger at her in warning.

Anna snorted. "I wouldn't take it if you paid me"

SOA SOA SOA

"Don't mind Chibs doll, he's just angry about Jax," Tig said as they were sifting through the dusty wreckage of things that survived the clubhouse explosion, "he still sees the world in black and white, doesn't know how having everything you love taken from you turns things into shades of grey"

Anna looked over at Tig with his unruly hair and wild, almost too blues eyes and smiled. "Juice used to talk about you a lot. I think he thought of himself as your sidekick for a while"

"Yeah? He was like the socially retarded son I never had. We had some good adventures together, although a lot of them involved me getting bitten in the ass. Dogs on crank, fat born again Christians, you know, the usual" Tig chuckled. "Then shit went really south for both of us, and it never went back to the way it was before."

Despite the fact that a film dubiously titled 'There she blows' was being filmed in the next room, Anna and Tig spent the next hour pouring through old boxes of documents and photographs, searching for Juice memorabilia and trading Juice stories in an easy going cameraderie.

**Thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks for reading and sorry for the delay**. **I got stuck on the story**.

The moans were coming hard and fast through the walls. Anna was eternally grateful that the drywall was acting as a muffler of sorts, although Tig seemed to be oblivious to the sounds. They were sitting in one of the small offices at Redwoody, a small pile of Juice's photographs and documents on the desk in front of Anna. She picked up the picture on top of the pile, Juice was much stockier, some of his adolescent pudginess coating his muscular frame. Gingerly, she ran her index finger over it, taking in Juice's grin and the way he was looking admiringly at Tig with his wild hair. Both men seemed genuinely happy, without the heaviness that had followed Juice the last year.

"Tig?"

"Yeah doll?"

"Why didn't you save him?" she asked in a small voice, almost afraid to hear the answer.

Tig's sigh spoke volumes. "I could barely keep myself alive. After Clay, I didn't have the power that others had, so it wouldn't have helped."

"He didn't do anything wrong."

"I know doll. Jax was a fucking puppet master, could sniff out weakness in people and take advantage of it."

"Juan Carlos was a good father, and one day Felix's real memories of him will fade and he'll be left trying to conjure up fragments from these photos. It breaks my heart, they both deserved so much more."

They descended into silence again, continuing to shift through the piles of photographs that had been haphazardly flung into boxes. As they were going through the final box, the sex sounds from the studio next door seemed to have reached their orgasmic crescendo. Anna heard somebody yell 'cut', followed by the clicking sound of heels on concrete. A head of blonde ringlets and china blue eyes popped through the doorway, followed by a petite body in jeans so low slung that Anna feared that pubic bone could be revealed at any moment. "Hey Tiggy, how's it going?" the woman asked.

"Hey doll, not too bad. Lyla did you meet Anna yet?" Tig asked, gesturing to Anna, "She was Juice's old lady kinda sorta. . . I don't fuckin know!" Tig exclaimed, half chuckling.

Lyla's eyes sparkled with warmth as she extended her hand to Anna. "Hey hon, nice to meet you. Sorry to hear about Juice, he was a great guy."

Anna offered one of her easy smiles. "Thanks, and Tig's right, it's complicated but Juan Carlos was my son's father."

"It's alright hon, there isn't anything about those boys that isn't! I'm a 'kinda sorta it's complicated' too" Lyla said, grinning. "I gotta get back to work, I just came in to check you were ok and to find out what time dinner was tonight Tiggy."

"Venus said to come about seven," Tig replied. "You wanna come doll?" he asked, looking at Anna.

Anna looked down at her nails, flicking them against each other out of nervous habit. "Ummm I'm not sure I'd be welcome. . . I mean I'd like to. . ."

"Venus would really like you to" Tig said, doing a surprisingly good job of making puppy eyes, "we'll tell you every single dumbass fucked up thing Juice ever did. Lots of material to tell your boy about his dad."

"Please come, us girls are always outnumbered at these things" Lyla added, leaning her head against Tig's and making similar puppy eyes.

"Alright fine!" Anna laughed, putting her hands up in surrender. "I gotta go, my friend is coming to pick up Felix and take him back to Oakland," Anna said, standing up. "I didn't know how today was going to go, so I thought it best to send Felix home" she offered in explanation. Picking up the small pile of documents and photos and putting them in her bag, she said bye to Lyla, planted a kiss on Tig's wild curls and headed out to her car.

"I like her" Lyla said definitively.

"Me too doll, she would have been good for the idiot" Tig agreed.

SOA SOA SOA

Back at the ice cream shop, Anna found Felix and Chucky so immersed in a game of Lego that they didn't notice her arrival. "Hi baby boy" Anna said, kissing Felix's head and noting that all the Lego blocks had been stacked according to colour. "Hi mama" Felix replied absently, focused on the car he was building.

"Tia Dee will be here to pick you up soon baby, so pack up your Lego please" Anna said.

"Why?" Felix whined, "I want to keep playing with Chucky!"

"We can come back another day and play with Chucky" Anna soothed, noting the disappointment on both Chucky and Felix's faces.

Felix's reply was drowned out by the rumble of a car engine and the muffled bass 'whump' blaring from speakers. Looking up, Anna saw Fiasco's car pulling up to the curb, drawing the attention of onlookers and the Sons, who had come downstairs to see what was going on. Fiasco stepped out of the car, his beanie riding low on his brow and his shirt characteristically buttoned at the top only. Walking to the passenger side, he opened the door and helped the heavily pregnant Dee from the car. Anna couldn't pinpoint exactly when Fiasco and Dee had happened, but it had certainly been brewing a long time. At some point they'd come into each other's sphere of vision, abandoning their respective whoring around to make a home together. She taught 6th grade and he ran a gang. Happy Families with a My Vida Loca twist.

"Hey," Dee said, planting a kiss on Anna's cheek. "So this is Charming huh? What a shithole... damn who is that hunk of brown?" she asked, interupting her own thoughts and lowering her sunglasses to get a better look. Although she had an idea who Dee was referring to, Anna turned and followed Dee's gaze to Happy who had stepped out of the doorway of the shop. "Lucky I packed some decent underwear for you" Dee said, handing over a tote to Anna.

"It's not like that, he's hot no doubt, but I'm not exactly in good standing with the president, plus that club let Juan Carlos die."

"Still, nothing like a man with tattoos and a wide legged stance to get your down lows humming" Dee said, now openly gaping at Happy, only stopping when Fiasco emerged from putting the booster seat in the car.

"I heard tattoos and a wide legged stance and knew you must be telling fuckin glorious tales about me. Hey chica" Fiasco said, giving Anna a bear hug.

"You couldn't come in Dee's car?" Anna asked grinning.

"Nah, gotta represent. Don't trust Chibs man," Fiasco said, nodding his head at the Sons gathered at the entrance of the shop. He cast an appraising gaze over Anna. "You aight? They didn't do nothing to you?"

"Nah, just got a little more stuff to go through of Juan Carlos' and Tig invited me to dinner. You look after my baby. If he comes home singing inappropriate lyrics again, we're going to have drama" Anna said pointing a warning finger, as Felix came bounding into Fiasco's arms. Fiasco chuckled. "Nah, me and this little _rakataka _are gonna have fun, right? Buy him a flannel an a beanie an shit. Have him rollin in the pimp mobile in no time" he teased, earning a swift punch in the arm from Anna.

"Mama what's a rakataka?" Felix asked.

"Like a hoodrat little raka" Fiasco answered.

"Is that a good thing?" Felix queried.

"No!" Anna said, drowning out Fiasco's "Yes".

"Andale! Let's get the fuck outta here, all this space is makin me nervous. Give your mama a kiss little raka" Fiasco said, as Anna leaned over to smother Felix's face with kisses. Standing on the curve, she waved as the car drove off down the main street, trying not to laugh as she heard the soundtrack change from Los Rakas to the Wiggles.

SOA SOA SOA

Anna climbed the stairs to the apartment. The long day of sifting through piles of memorabilia, documents and general crap at Redwoody, Clear Passages and the ice cream shop, had produced a stack of Juice's photographs and documents plus a key marked 'for Felix' which was for a safety deposit box in Oakland. Covered in dust and cobwebs, Anna was longing to wash the dust and dirt off her and get ready for dinner. She pushed the key into the lock and swung the door open.

"So you knew huh?" The rumble of Happy's voice startled her, causing her to jump in fright. Switching on the light, she found Happy sitting on the couch, meeting her gaze completely, and boring straight through her with a coal black emptiness.

"Jesus, you scared the crap out of me!" she said, putting her bags on the floor. "Fiasco told me last night about how Juice ended up in prison. I already knew that Chibs told Juice to eat his gun. Juice told me."

"So what was last night?"

Anna's brow creased "Huh?" she asked, confusion plain in her eyes.

"You knew what the club did to Juice and you didn't hold back with Chibs today, but you sat drinking and joking with me last night. Why aren't you pissed at me? I'm part of that club too."

"First of all, I don't hate the club, how could I hate an abstract concept?" Anna asked, walking into the kitchen and getting a glass of water. "I hate the hypocrisy of Jax and Chibs and I think it's despicable that they used the 'best interests of the club' as the bullshit reason for what they did to Juice. But even if I did hate the club, I wouldn't hate you."

"Yeah?" he asked menacingly, springing off the couch and covering the distance between them in three strides. "You don't know shit about me, you think I'm some guy who can be rehabilitated with some kindness? You lookin to save me?" he asked, leaning in so close that Anna could feel the heat of his breath on her. Although she enjoyed this kind of verbal sparring, Anna couldn't help but roll her eyes. The drama that came with the club was exhausting."What, you think I'm looking to live out some Outsiders fantasy, looking for a Dallas Winston for my Cherry Valance? You think you're the first dead-eyed gang member I've met?" Anna asked, her green eyes flashing.

"It's a club."

"Rotary is a club. You sell pussy and you used to mule coke and sell guns."

"Doesn't mean you know me" Happy said.

"Your stance, your silence, the way you survey your surroundings. Everything about you screams soldier. I'd be willing to bet you keep out of club politics and just follow orders. You're a killer, not a schemer. My cousin was the same."

"Ok so I'm a soldier, that makes you good with me?" Happy almost sneered, placing his hands either side of Anna so that she was pinned between him and the kitchen bench. His scent was the epitome of masculine, making her head swim. Anna shrugged, aiming for nonplussed even though she could feel her heart pounding so hard that she was sure it must be visible to Happy."I think it makes your hands clean of Juice's blood. Although, I think your willingness to kill or be killed for an ideal that your last president manipulated for personal gain makes you a fucking idiot. But hey, I'm not your wife or baby mama so it's got nothing to do with me."

Anna made a move to indicate she was ready to be unpinned from the kitchen bench, pushing against Happy slightly. When he didn't shift, she raised an eyebrow and fixed him with a stare. "Do you mind? I need to get ready for dinner." With his height advantage, Happy watched the rise and fall of her breasts through her t-shirt. He had no idea why he was having this conversation with Anna, why he cared what she thought of him, why he had pinned her in the kitchen with the smell of jasmine sticking in his nostrils. Finally, he forced himself to stop checking out Anna's rack and stepped aside.

In the bathroom, Anna peeled off her dusty clothes and stepped under the hot spray, washing the grime off her body and out of her hair. While she was toweling off, she opened the bag to see what Dee had packed for her, praying it wasn't a bikini or some spray on dress. Looking down at the short a-line skirt and long sleeve v neck, Anna decided it wasn't the worst outfit Dee had packed, but it wasn't exactly her first choice. She wound her damp hair into a braid and exited the bathroom with all the confidence she could muster.

"You can drive, I'm planning on drinking" Anna said, throwing the keys at Happy.

"I'm not going in the cage," Happy replied tossing them back to Anna, "you can ride with me."

**Thanks again for reading, please feel free to leave a comment!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: This is just a short little chapter because I'm stuck with the next part. Anyway, thanks for reading and please let me know what you think!**

One look at Happy's bike made it abundantly clear to Anna that there was no way to gracefully get on wearing the skirt Dee had chosen. Ordinarily, Anna would have just hiked up her skirt and climbed on, but Dee had packed underwear that left very little to the imagination.

"Are you getting on or not?" Happy asked impatiently, although he had a pretty good idea of what was keeping Anna from getting on the bike. When she'd bent down to zip up her boots, her skirt had ridden up, giving him a good look at her black mesh cheeky shorts and her tanned ass cheeks peeking out underneath. "_Sort it out Del Valle,"_ Anna told herself sternly "_so he sees your underwear, who cares? Get on the damn bike!"_ "Fuck it," she said under her breath and hitching up her skirt, climbed on. Happy's bike had no bitch seat so Anna found herself pressed flush against Happy, her breasts pushing up against his back, her inner thighs pressing against his hips and her arms wrapped around his waist. In such close proximity to one another, Happy could feel the warmth of Anna's skin and he was certain she must be blushing.

SOA SOA SOA

"So Anna, tell us about yourself" Quinn said, easing his giant frame into one of Tig's armchairs. Happy had deposited her with Venus and headed out to join Tig and Chibs in the garden. "Well," Anna said, uncomfortable with all the attention suddenly focused on her, "Ummm, I was born in San Francisco and moved to Oakland when I was 15. My mom is a professor of Latin American studies, my dad and older brother are doctors and I teach 3rd grade. I guess some of you knew my cousin Gomes …... maybe you were there when he died? Anyway, he was the one who always looked out for me and helped me with Felix while Juan Carlos was in prison... So I guess that's it."

"I can't believe we never knew Juice had a kid" Rat said, in disbelief. "Or that he even knew Fiasco and Gomes," Lyla added, "they acted like they didn't know each other."

Anna shrugged. "I think they had some agreement to keep it on the down low. Fiasco and Gomes were always pretty leery about the Sons, no offense, and I guess Juan Carlos was just trying to keep his family safe. Bad stuff tends to happen."

The conversation was interrupted by Venus who had returned with a huge pitcher of what looked like iced tea. "Mint juleps" she said, nodding her head at the pitcher. "You don't have beer?" Rat asked, looking at the pitcher in disappointment. Venus raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow. "_I _am a _southern_ lady, and _we_ drink mint juleps" she said, "the juleps are for the _ladies_, and unless _you_ consider yourself to be one of _us_, I did not make them for you. The beer is outside in the cooler by the grill with my Alexander and Happy" she added, making a fluttering motion to shoo Rat outside. Not needing to be told twice, Rat took the opportunity to escape outside, taking Quinn, who planted a gentle kiss on Lyla's head before he left.

"When did that start?" Brooke asked Lyla, eyes wide.

"A couple of weeks ago" Lyla said blushing, "It's still early days so we'll see" she added, accepting a glass from Venus.

"Now ladies," Venus said raising her glass, "to our _Charming_ little dysfunctional family and our newest member Anna. Cheers!"

"Cheers!" the women said in unison, clinking their glasses together.

"Goddamn that's strong!" Lyla said, coughing.

"It'll certainly put hairs on your chest" Anna agreed, taking a huge gulp and feeling some of her anxiety subside.

"Dear lord, I hope not" Venus deadpanned.

SOA SOA SOA

By seven thirty the alcohol was beginning to work its magic as a social lubricant. The women had relocated to the kitchen to help Venus with food preparation while the men were all drinking beer around the barbecue and offering unsolicited advice to Tig about how to cook the steaks. Through the kitchen window, Happy watched as Anna chatted with the other women, occasionally throwing her head back in laughter. "How's she going? Anything I need to worry about?" Chibs said, moving next to Happy and inclining his head to the kitchen tableau. "Nah" Happy said with a definitive shake of the head, "she made it pretty clear that she's heading back to Oakland tomorrow."

"I know you're leery of her Chibs, but she's actually a pretty cool chick" Tig said, jabbing the steaks with the tongs. "She's just trying to do right by her son and Juice. No different from Lyla with Ellie and Kenny."

"Aye but the difference is we know Lyla, this gash's connections make me nervous"

"She's not a gash," Happy said taking a sip of his beer before returning to his characteristic silence. He couldn't say exactly why, but Chibs' persistence in disliking Anna pissed him off. Maybe it was because Anna was like his mom, trying to raise her kid the best way she knew how. Usually Happy kept out of politics and drama but it seemed like such a waste of time when there were bigger issues for the Sons to be dealing with. Like keeping Redwoody alive or winning back the town's trust. He could feel Chibs' looking at him and turned to meet his stare, obsidian eyes glaring unflinchingly at his pres; Happy would follow Chibs into the bowels of hell, but he wasn't at all intimidated by him.

SOA SOA SOA

"Can I ask you a question Lyla?" Anna asked, as they were all sitting down to eat. The mint juleps had done their job and she felt relaxed and slightly emboldened. "Do porno scripts tell the actors what sex phrases to say?" she asked.

"Nah not really, unless it's some kind of fetish or specific adult film. Of course there are some things that are expected like 'so big', 'so hard', 'so wet.'"

"Or so tight" Brooke supplied. "What?" she said in response to the naked surprise across the table, "I've seen porn."

"Of course you have honey pie" Venus soothed, spooning out mashed potatoes.

"Yeah I never got how vaginal tautness was a selling point" Anna mused, taking a sip of her drink.

"Really? I thought all chicks wanted to hear that" Rat asked in surprise, looking around at the women and ignoring the sniggers coming from Montez and TO.

"Don't ask me Cherie, I came with a different set of equipment" Venus said, busily serving steaks on everybody's plates.

"Brooke?" Rat asked.

"Not really...sorry" Brooke said, looking at the table.

"There are sexier things you could say" Anna added diplomatically.

"It's not like you boys can tell the difference anyway" Lyla said with a chuckle.

"There's always room for a kazoo" Chucky piped up. "I mean instead of talking, not to, you know _put_ places" he added for clarification, seeing the looks exchanged between everyone at the table.

"Jesus Christ" Chibs sighed, looking at Chucky, "just when I think I've got used to your weirdness, you take it up another level."


	10. Chapter 10

**So, finally, this is the end of my little tale. I hope you enjoy it. Obviously, everything you recognize comes from Kurt Sutter, only Anna, Dee and Felix are mine.**

Anna sat back in her chair, her skin warm from the good food and the juleps. For the first time since she had heard about Juice, she felt contented. It was reassuring to find that he had been loved by this bunch of eccentrics, she wouldn't have been able to bear it if he'd never known love in the world, aside from Felix's. Smiling to herself, she remembered Juice explaining heaven to Felix after Gomes died, describing it as a combination of Disneyland and Asgard. Felix had been so excited that he'd asked if they could visit in the Summer. She fervently hoped that Felix would grow up ok now that Juice was dead. She'd never minded the idea of raising her son by herself, knowing full well that he was surrounded by an almost comically diverse group of people who loved him dearly; but Juice had wanted so badly to be a good dad, _had _ been a good dad, and Anna feared that the trauma of losing his father would warp Felix in some way. From across the table, Happy watched the dreamy faraway look of her eyes refocus with laser precision on Chibs. He could tell by the way her eyebrow arched slightly that she was planning a vendetta in the event Chibs fucked with her or her kid again, and couldn't help but be impressed, Anna was no victim.

"Hun?" Lyla said gently, breaking through Anna's thoughts.

"Huh? Oh sorry Lyla, I was miles away" Anna said, smiling and dragging herself back to the conversation at hand. As she focussed on the current topic, an inexplicably heated debate as to whether it was appropriate for Tig to call people 'Doll' given his phobia of them, she became aware of being watched. Without swivelling her head, Anna knew who it was but she turned around anyway, meeting his sloe-eyed glare with barely contained amusement. Somewhere between the third and fourth julep it had dawned on her that Happy wanted her, and by the fifth, getting fucked by Happy had begun to seem like a brilliant idea. It had been a long time since she'd had a man in her bed and she found her gaze drifting down the muscles of Happy's arms, rippling under lurid ink to his giant calloused hands. Lifting her eyes slowly, she met his gaze, noticing the faintest trace of a smirk. No doubt about it, sex with Happy was never going to the exhuberant romp it had been with Juice, but dammit it would be good.

Despite Venus' protestations, she stood up and began to clear the plates from the table, all the while feeling Happy watching her, his eyes taking in her long fingers as they gripped the plates, trailing up to encompass the rest of her. He could tell she was buzzed, her body seemed less coiled and moved with a languid fluidity. Reaching across to take his plate, the soft honey-toned swell of Anna's breasts came into his direct line of vision. As she was leaving the diningroom, she lifted her gaze once more to Happy. Her focus was still razor sharp but the combative stoicism of the last twenty-four hours had been replaced with an impish glint. Raising her eyebrow slightly, she offered one last pointed look and disappeared into the kitchen. The challenge in those rockpool green eyes was not lost on Happy but he was not the kind of man to go trailing after a woman. Women came to Happy Lowman, not the other way round. Not bothering to offer any kind of explanation, he pushed his chair away from the table and strode after Anna, pretending he didn't see Lyla nudge Venus and exchange knowing looks.

When he entered the kitchen, Anna was putting the dishes into the dishwasher. With every bend and twist of her body, her skirt rode up, revealing the curve of her ass cheeks, tanned and pert like an exotic peach. Never in his whole life had Happy wanted to bite into something so badly. She stood up, tugging at her skirt and smoothing it over her ass. From the moment she had left the dining room, Anna had known Happy would follow her, known exactly what he was after. Although she didn't consider herself to be particularly attractive, she had a keen awareness of when somebody wanted to fuck her and when the feeling was mutual, she played to win. She spun around to face him, leaning back and resting her arms against the countertop. His expression was one of pure fury, as if what they both knew was about to happen was against his will, or, then again, Anna reasoned, maybe he always looked like that. For the second time in 24 hours, Happy found himself charging towards her and pinning her against the kitchen bench. He had no idea why or how this woman had managed to get so under his skin in such a short amount of time, and he hated that she was somehow making him chase her, work for it even: usually it was only a matter of pointing at a croweater and they were there to do his bidding.

"Something I can help you with?" she asked him, her face an imperfect study in innocence that didn't quite hide her knowing look. Happy's hand shot out, his thumb pressing down slightly on her corotid pulse which was thumping away steadily. Anna didn't even flinch, she was 99% sure that he wasn't about to kill her and even if he was, there was a carving knife within arm's reach. Slowly, Happy leaned down so that his mouth was next to her ear.

"You sure you know what you're doin?" he rumbled.

"Do you?" she retorted

"I could kill you right here"

"You won't though"

"What makes you so sure?"

"If you do, Fiasco will come after you, maybe Alvarez too. The Sons aren't strong enough to fight another war. Plus," she added, her voice low and bourbon tinged, "I know you want to fuck me, you've been waiting all evening to do it"

Happy pulled back with a wolfish grin, his grip softening on her neck as he pulled her closer. Anna was expecting to be devoured, swallowed whole like those snakes on the nature programs on Nat Geo. Instead, she found herself being kissed with an almost adolescent gentleness. Gentle or not, as his tongue, entered her mouth, Anna found herself sinking into the kiss. Her hands clutched at the waistband of his jeans, pulling him closer to her. Letting go of his jeans, she slid her hands up under his tshirt, relishing the smooth warmth of his skin and the feel of his taught muscles, it was all she could do not to undo his pants and fuck him right there in the kitchen.

Anna had no idea how they got from Tig's kitchen back to Wendy's flat. She knew that at some point they must have walked back into the diningroom, made their excuses and left. Probably Venus and Lyla had given them 'you're totally going to get laid' looks, definitely Chibs would have scowled at her. The whole transition was a blur: one minute she was making out like a teenager with Happy in the kitchen, his hands under her sweater, calloused fingers rolling and pinching her nipples, and the next they were in Wendy's bedroom, the weight of Happy pressing down on her and her skirt bunched up around her waist. Feverishly, she yanked off her top and shimmied out of her skirt, leaving her in just her bra and panties. Kneeling in front of Happy she peeled off his tshirt as he hungrily sucked at her neck, his hands palming her ass cheeks almost to the point of pain. She could feel his erection pressing up against her, giving her a momentary pause at the sheer size of him. As she grabbed his belt and began undoing the buckle the thus far silent voice of reason in her head reminded Anna that she was about to go where many women had gone before. "Wait," she said, her hand still clutching the end of Happy's belt. "We need protection. God only knows where you've been"

"You're one to talk, you got knocked up. To a biker. From a one night stand"

"So we're agreed then, I'll get the condoms"

"I got one here"

"Nuh uh, no way are we using _yours_. I know that you reuse them"

"Are we gonna fuck or not? Quit yapping woman and go and get them"

If Happy had been a verbal kind of man he would have described fucking Anna as surreal, like nothing he had ever experienced before. Generally the women that were with Happy either lolled underneath him, their eyes glazed over with booze or poor self esteem, making theatrically pornographic faces and uttering all the things they thought men wanted to hear; or they had the distinct look of somebody who had got way more than they bargained for, eyes wide, begging for God and clutching at Happy just trying to hold on. Anna did none of those things. Her eyes were clear and focussed on him and aside from gasps and quiet moans, she didn't say a word, the slapping sound of skin on skin the most audible sound in the room. But as Happy continued to pound into her, she was giving as good as she was getting, her pelvis wasn't just rising up to meet him but pushing against him keeping up with his ruthless pace. Her leg was wrapped around his waist and Happy could feel the muscles in her leg holding him where she wanted him to be.

Anna could tell by the sweat that was slick on their skin and Happy's furious glare that he was close, hell she was close too but some strange competitive drive kicked in and she decided that she wasn't going to be the one to come first. She shifted her other leg so that it was slung over Happy's shoulder and tilted her pelvis so that Happy had even deeper access. Happy glared even more if that was possible and wrapped his hand around her thigh and held her in place. He had every intention of pounding into her until she screamed his name, but the sight of her body undulating underneath him and the feel of her wrapped around him was too much. With a furious grunt he came, letting go of her leg to grip her hips and gain some control of the last few erratics pumps. He looked down at Anna, noticed her triumphant smirk and promptly bit straight into her shoulder. On sensory overload, Anna bucked underneath him and he felt her shudder and clench around him, her eyelids fluttering before she threw her head back and let out a sigh.

For ten minutes, they lay in bed in silence. It was unusual for Happy to find himself in this situation since he so rarely had sex in a bed, hell, he hardly ever had sex face to face. Usually, once he was done he went back to the party, leaving the girl bent over whatever handbasin or furniture they'd used. Next to him, Anna stretched, her body curving and her toes flexing in a feline way. Sitting up she leaned over and licked his nipple. "You kiss so gently but you fuck like you're trying to make a point" she said, looking up at him and grinning. "And?" Happy rumbled. Her fingertips lightly traced the snake tattoo on his stomach,"You about ready to make another point soon? Or do you need a few more minutes? _Old man"_

Happy let out a smokey chuckle. "Greedy bitch"

Anna awoke to find herself pinned to the bed by Happy's arm which he had flung across her at some point in the night. The fact that he was even in the bed with her was a shock, she'd expected him to head back to the couch, or even go back to wherever he lived once they were done, but he'd merely grunted and dozed off. Lifting his arm slightly, Anna managed to slide out of the bed, feeling the soreness in her muscles with every movement. Getting dressed in her jeans and tshirt, she took stock of the various marks that were blooming on her skin. '_Definitely worth it' _she thought to herself as she wrapped her hair up into a bun.

It was the smell of Cuban coffee that got Happy out of bed. Anna was sitting at the table, checking her phone. At the sound of his footsteps, she looked up, taking in the sight of him clad only in his jeans. After the night she had just had, she was stunned to find herself thinking that the only thing she wanted to do at this moment was lick along the lines of Happy's v cut muscles and drag him back to bed. Instead, she got up and poured him a coffee.

"Where'd you get the coffee?" he asked, eyeing it suspiciously.

"Dee and Fiasco brought it yesterday" she replied, handing him the cup, "Nectar of the gods"

"I ain't gonna make you my old lady" Happy said, eyes watching Anna steadily over the rim of his coffee cup. Anna snorted. "I never asked to be. The arrogance of you to think that you could fuck me one time and I would automatically want to live out the American dream with you!"

"Was more than one time" Happy said, with a smirk.

"Yeah, it was" Anna grinned. "I'm not looking for somebody to hold my hand and tell me their feelings. In fact, I'm not looking for anybody at all. I've got my family, a good job and thanks to Juan Carlos, my beautiful boy." She took another sip of her coffee and stared at him appraisingly. "However, if you ever find yourself in Oakland, feel free to come over."

SOA SOA SOA SOA

There was no such thing as stealth with a Harley Anna mused, hearing the telltale rumble coming down the street. The Alvarez's lived a block away but she was pretty sure that this was no Mayan bike. It had been a week since she'd left Charming, a box of Juice's stuff on the backseat and a bunch of hickeys and bruises from Happy stretching from her neck to her thighs. Dee had squealed when she saw the hickeys and Fiasco had grinned, muttering darkly that you could take the girl out of the hood but not the hood out of the girl, adding "literally, in your case, mama." However most awkward had been explaining the dark marks covering her neck to Felix. She'd opted with the 'skin allergy' explanation.

Thinking of her beautiful boy, she tiptoed into his bedroom to check on him. He'd been ok the last few days, maybe a little more clingy than normal. He'd cried when they had gone through Juice's photos, those chocolatey eyes welling up before he buried his head in her arms and really bawled. Just like that last night with Juice, she'd rubbed his back, telling him that it would be ok, adding that daddy was smiling down on him from heaven. Gently, Anna planted a kiss on his head, brushing back his dark hair and grinning at those Ortiz ears. She would always be grateful for this gift Juice gave her, thankful that he had had the chance to have his own tiny family. She wished that she could have fallen in love with him and given him some stability, maybe even made him a good wife, but it wasn't meant to be. The last few months had been hectic and devastating, Gomes, her knight in shining armour was gone, Juice too. She remembered with a sad smile the day she had gone into labor and Gomes had driven her to the hospital in a friend's lowrider decked out with vejigantes on the hood. If she hadn't been trying desperately to breathe through contractions she would have hung her head in horror. Fiasco had asked her why she didn't hate the Sons and she had told him the same thing she had told Happy: the club wasn't a living thing and the man responsible for the mayhem was gone. All that was left to do was love her boy and keep him safe.

Hearing the sound of boots stealthily climbing her stairs, Anna sprinted to the front door. Out of habit she peered through the keyhole. He almost filled her door frame, the backlighting of the street lamps picking up on the stubble on his head. She opened the door, stepping aside to let him in. "You on a run?" she asked, with a grin. Happy looked down at Anna standing there in boxer shorts and a white tank top. The thoughts of her that kept popping into his head this last week had surprised him. He'd expected that the sex would get her out of his system but in fact it had done the opposite. By Wednesday, it was like an itch he couldn't scratch and come Thursday, he'd made up his mind to go and see her. Now, seeing her with that curtain of shiny dark hair hanging loose almost to her waist and those green eyes glinting at him, he knew he'd made a good decision. "Nah" he shrugged, the beginning of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. In one swift motion, he flung her over his shoulder and caveman style started carrying her down the hallway in search of her bedroom. Out of his peripheral vision he could see the swell of her ass and without hesitation, he turned his head and sank his teeth in. "Been wanting to do that for a while" he rumbled, a rarely seen grin spreading across his face.

**Thanks for reading! I hope that you enjoyed it!**


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